Texas State University graduate student studying Portuguese in Brazil

I arrived in Florianópolis in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina on August 22, 2017. I flew on Delta airlines which has an international hub at the Atlanta, GA airport and went directly from Atlanta to São Paulo. The airport in São Paulo is very nice and modern with lots of shops and places to eat. My flight from São Paulo to Florianópolis was on a Brazilian airline called Gol. The flight with Gol was short, just about an hour long, but very pleasant. The seats were roomy and the staff was very nice. The usual flight and safety information given over the plane’s intercom was read in both Portuguese and English. Water was served on the flight and with it came my first Portuguese usage lesson from Brazilians in the real world. Water comes in two ways:

água gelada = this literally means ice water but it refers to chilled water as there is no ice in it when served

água natural = this refers to water served at room temperature

I was also introduced to the welcoming and interested nature of Brazilian people. One of the students I was travelling with was sitting next to a Brazilian couple who I would guess is in their mid to late 20’s. The woman, Marina, overheard some of us Americans talking and asked in English where we were from. Marina then proceeded to give my classmate a lesson in Portuguese that lasted the rest of the flight. By the time we were departing my classmate and Marina exchanged numbers and Marina insisted that we call or text if we need any help getting around Florianópolis.

We were lucky enough to land in good weather and I was able to capture the nice picture of the coast I have included with this post. Since almost all of Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere, I landed at the tail end of winter. As you can see from the picture, winter is generally mild in Florianópolis. The airport in Florianópolis is tiny but sufficient.

While I am here, I am taking Portuguese language and cultural courses through a non-profit educational provider called the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC). In a later post, I will detail my experiences with this excellent group.

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I am a graduate student at Texas State University and a Boren Fellow. My Boren Fellowship has given me the amazing opportunity to study Portuguese in Brazil for the Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 academic year. In preparation, I also attended a six-week intensive Portuguese program at the Summer Languages Institute at the University of Chicago.

I am using this site to document my experiences in Brazil as part of my work with the graduate program at the Center for International Studies at Texas State University. It is my hope to provide useful information here for anyone with interest in Portuguese language, studying abroad in general, and living in Brazil.